Giraffe Charities - get involved and help giraffes

Giraffe numbers have declined because of habitat loss, poaching, disease and unrest in many parts of Africa.

For example, giraffes in Uganda are under threat from oil prospectors. There are 1,000 beautiful Rothschild giraffes living in the Murchison Falls National Park. They live on one side of the River Nile but the ground they live on has 75% of Uganda's oil. Drilling plans are under way.

Some populations are growing, mainly in southern parts of the continent and there are a number of charities working to help giraffes. 21st June is World Giraffe Day, but meantime...

Here are some projects working to help giraffes

A number of these are supported by UK charities, such as Born Free and PTES.

GCF is dedicated to a sustainable future for all giraffe populations in the wild. It seeks to raise awareness for, provide support to and secure a future for giraffe and conserve their habitat in Africa. Amongst other actiivities, it identifies key threats to giraffes in Africa and develops innovative ways to tackle these, and it raises awareness for and promotes the value of giraffe conservaton in African Range States and abroad. It raises funds to help with giraffe conservation in Africa and works with the IUCN SSC Giraffe and Okapi Specialist Group (GOSG) to provide comprehensive awareness and technical support.

2. IUCN SSC Giraffe & Okapi Specialist Group consists of global experts and its group leads efforts to study giraffe, okapi and the threats they face. It also leads and supports conservation actions to ensure the survival of the two species into the future. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation (GCF) and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) are institutional co-hosts of the GOSG for giraffe and okapi respectively. Find out more about giraffes from their website

3. The Giraffe Research & Conservation Trust (GRCT) is dedicated to giraffe research and conservation. It establishes, manages and expands giraffe research and conservation projects across Africa, focusing mainly in East Africa. Their main project focuses on the conservation of the endangered Rothschild’s giraffe. Their work is supported by PTES - the People's Trust for Endangered Species who are working to help them undertake giraffe population and conservation in Kenya.